{"id":"F2019L00146","name":"Director of Public Prosecutions Regulations 2019","slug":"director-of-public-prosecutions-regulations-2019","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":439927,"registerId":"F2019L00146-fast-fetch-1775955760984","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Director of Public Prosecutions Regulations 2019","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nDirector of Public Prosecutions Regulations 2019\n\nI, General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Ret’d), Governor‑General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following regulations.\n\nDated 07 February 2019\n\nPeter Cosgrove\n\nGovernor‑General\n\nBy His Excellency’s Command\n\nGreg Hunt\n\nMinister for Health  for the Attorney‑General\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Schedules\n\n5 Definitions\n\n6 Other functions of the Director of Public Prosecutions\n\n7 Additional powers of the Director of Public Prosecutions\n\n8 Prescribed bodies\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nDirector of Public Prosecutions Regulations 1984\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Director of Public Prosecutions Regulations 2019.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after this instrument is registered. 16 February 2019\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983.\n\n4  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\n5  Definitions\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983.\n\nState or Territory authority means an agency of a State or Territory government that:\n\n (a) conducts investigations into offences against State or Territory laws; or\n\n (b) is responsible for the conduct of prosecutions for breaches of those laws.\n\n6  Other functions of the Director of Public Prosecutions\n\n (1) For the purposes of paragraph 6(2)(b) of the Act, the other functions of the Director are:\n\n (a) to carry on proceedings instituted by:\n\n (i) an officer of, or a person employed by, the Commonwealth or a body established by an Act or a law of a Territory; or\n\n (ii) a person holding office under an Act or a law of a Territory; or\n\n (iii) a person who performs services for the Australian Crime Commission under an arrangement under subsection 58(1) of the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002; or\n\n (iv) the Australian Securities and Investments Commission;\n\n  being proceedings instituted for:\n\n (v) the commitment of persons for trial in respect of indictable offences against the laws of a State; or\n\n (vi) the summary conviction of persons in respect of offences against the laws of a State; and\n\n (b) to perform, in respect of matters arising under laws made under, or continued in force by, the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988, the functions conferred on the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Australian Capital Territory by the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1990 (ACT), during any period when no person holds office, or is acting, as Director of Public Prosecutions under that Act; and\n\n (c) to institute proceedings, or to carry on proceedings (whether instituted by the Director or not), under section 112AH of the Family Law Act 1975; and\n\n (d) to institute proceedings, or to carry on proceedings (whether instituted by the Director or not), under the Confiscation of Proceeds of Crime Act 1989 (NSW); and\n\n (e) to give, to an authority of the Commonwealth, legal advice on law enforcement or a matter relating to law enforcement, whether or not the advice is for the purposes of a particular investigation; and\n\n (f) to give, to a State or Territory authority, legal advice on the investigation or prosecution of an offence against a law of the Commonwealth or a matter relating to the investigation or prosecution of such an offence, whether or not the advice is for the purposes of a particular investigation; and\n\n (g) to institute proceedings, or to carry on proceedings (whether instituted by the Director or not), or to coordinate or supervise the institution or carrying on of proceedings, for the recovery of:\n\n (i) an amount payable by a person to the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth authority under a superannuation order made under the Crimes (Superannuation Benefits) Act 1989; or\n\n (ii) an amount payable by a person to the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth organisation under a superannuation order made under Part VA of the Australian Federal Police Act 1979.\n\n (2) Nothing in paragraph 6(1)(e) affects the power of the Director (or a person entitled to represent the Director) under subsection 9(11) of the Act.\n\n7  Additional powers of the Director of Public Prosecutions\n\n  The Director has the power, during any period referred to in paragraph 6(1)(b), to exercise the powers conferred on the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Australian Capital Territory by the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1990 (ACT), in respect of matters referred to in that paragraph.\n\n8  Prescribed bodies\n\n  For the purposes of paragraph 9(6C)(c) of the Act, the following bodies are prescribed:\n\n (a) the New South Wales Crime Commission established under the Crime Commission Act 2012 (NSW);\n\n (b) the Independent Commission Against Corruption established under the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 (NSW);\n\n (c) the Crime and Corruption Commission established under the Crime and Corruption Act 2001 (Qld).\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\n \n\nDirector of Public Prosecutions Regulations 1984\n\n1  The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations replace the 1984 regulations with similar content, updating references and adding minor clarifications. They do not expand the original purpose of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983, which already authorized prescribing additional functions and bodies."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument (8 sections plus a schedule)","Few defined terms (only 'State or Territory authority')","Straightforward lists of functions and prescribed bodies","Cross-references to other Acts but no nested conditions or exceptions"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations set out extra tasks the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) can do beyond their core job of prosecuting federal crimes. The DPP can:\n- Take over court cases started by certain Commonwealth officers, the Australian Crime Commission, or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for state offences.\n- Act as the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions if that position is vacant.\n- Start or continue court proceedings under specific sections of the Family Law Act 1975 and the Confiscation of Proceeds of Crime Act 1989 (NSW).\n- Give legal advice to Commonwealth authorities on law enforcement matters, and to state or territory authorities on Commonwealth offences.\n- Start or manage legal action to recover money owed to the Commonwealth under certain superannuation laws.\nThe regulations also list three state anti-corruption bodies (NSW Crime Commission, ICAC, and Qld Crime and Corruption Commission) that the DPP can share information with under the main Act."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a straightforward remake of the 1984 regulations with modernised language and updated references. The scope remains consistent with the original intent: to prescribe specific functions, powers, and bodies under the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983. The substantive content appears largely unchanged from the 1984 version, merely updated for contemporary legislative references (e.g., updating 'National Crime Authority' to 'Australian Crime Commission', modernising ACT self-government references)."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument: only 8 substantive sections plus a repeal schedule","Minimal defined terms: only 2 definitions in section 5 ('Act' and 'State or Territory authority')","Heavy reliance on external references: requires knowledge of at least 8 other Acts (Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983, Australian Crime Commission Act 2002, Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988, Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1990 (ACT), Family Law Act 1975, Confiscation of Proceeds of Crime Act 1989 (NSW), Crimes (Superannuation Benefits) Act 1989, Australian Federal Police Act 1979, plus three State/Territory Acts mentioned in section 8)","Nested conditional logic in section 6(1)(a): proceedings must be instituted by specific categories of persons AND must be for specific types of State offences","Temporal condition in sections 6(1)(b) and 7: powers only apply 'during any period when no person holds office' as ACT DPP","Cross-referencing between sections: section 7's powers depend on the circumstance described in section 6(1)(b)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThis is a set of regulations made under the *Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983*. It sets out the detailed rules for what Australia's federal prosecutor (the DPP) can and cannot do.\n\n**Key things it covers:**\n\n*   **Extra jobs for the DPP:** The main Act gives the DPP basic functions, but these regulations add specific extra tasks. These include:\n    *   Taking over criminal cases started by Commonwealth officers, ASIC, or Australian Crime Commission staff — but only for prosecuting people under **State laws** (not federal laws). This is unusual because the DPP normally handles federal crimes.\n    *   Temporarily acting as the ACT's prosecutor if that position is vacant.\n    *   Handling cases under the *Family Law Act 1975* (specifically about international child abduction — section 112AH).\n    *   Chasing money from criminals' superannuation (pension) funds under special laws.\n    *   Giving legal advice to Commonwealth agencies about law enforcement, and to State/Territory agencies about investigating or prosecuting **federal** crimes.\n    *   Handling proceeds of crime cases under NSW law.\n\n*   **Extra powers:** When the DPP is temporarily filling in as the ACT's prosecutor, they get all the powers that ACT role normally has.\n\n*   **Who the DPP can share information with:** The regulations list three specific anti-corruption and crime bodies that the DPP can disclose information to: the NSW Crime Commission, the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), and Queensland's Crime and Corruption Commission.\n\n*   **Cleaning up:** It repeals the old 1984 regulations, replacing them with this updated version.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n*   The DPP and their staff\n*   Commonwealth agencies seeking legal advice\n*   State and Territory police/prosecutors who need help with federal cases\n*   The three prescribed anti-corruption bodies (NSW Crime Commission, NSW ICAC, Qld CCC)\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThese regulations fill in the gaps between the broad powers in the main Act and the practical day-to-day work of federal prosecution. The most significant aspect is that it lets the federal prosecutor handle **State criminal matters** in specific circumstances — a cross-jurisdictional arrangement that requires careful legal boundaries. It also ensures continuity of prosecution services in the ACT if their local DPP position becomes vacant."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/director-of-public-prosecutions-regulations-2019","history":"/api/acts/director-of-public-prosecutions-regulations-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/director-of-public-prosecutions-regulations-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/director-of-public-prosecutions-regulations-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/director-of-public-prosecutions-regulations-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/director-of-public-prosecutions-regulations-2019/documents"}}